The venue was our developing training centre in Clonmines, Co. Wexford, a rural location in the south of Ireland.

Project Description: ‘Making a scene for change’ was a training course that explored social inclusion through Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum theatre and Legislative theatre and planned achievable local and international projects that supports the participation of young people!

Who was there? We hosted 18 youth workers, educators, peer educators, activists, theatre practioners, community development workers & those who work or are connected with young people both in a professional and voluntary capacity. It was an initiative of Eolas Soileir (Ireland) with partners CEIPES & Kamaleonte (Italy), Eurocircle (France), ACTOR (Romania) EUROACCION (Spain) & MTÜ Noored Ühiskonna Heaks (Estonia)

What did we do? It was a seven-day training and each day was built upon the previous day culminating in the showing of the forum pieces. The participants experienced through workshop format, Theatre of the Oppressed arsenal of games and how they can be used with groups around issue based work. Participants started to look at issues of power and status in society. They examined the power structures in which we live and the role they play and how they can empower the people they work with.

Themes: The themes chosen by the participants and explored in the forum pieces were gay rights, discrimination and prejudice, gender violence & equality, bullying and abuse of power.

Facilitation: The participants got the opportunity to facilitate some games / activities themselves and also got the opportunity to practice their joker (Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator) skills!

Youthpass: All participants received a Youthpass and we allowed time for personal reflection, in pairs and in the large group.

Partnership Building: On the last day we looked at the further potential of the YiA programme (& Erasmus +) and started to build partnerships for further projects.

Our approach: Our approach was creative, non-formal & participative. This training was suitable for those with or without experience in this method. We had a productive and enjoyable week in a dynamic environment.